[ADXA] Shame of US Radio Amateurs - 60 Meters

Thu Nov 19 13:26:50 EST 2020

Hi Trent, I have a copy of the ARRL's bandplan on my desktop. I've even printed out copies and gave them to new hams at club meetings. I reference it all the time even though I've been a ham for over 40 years.BTW, I cringe when I mess up among my peers.Like the other day I was in such a hurry to work the Vatican I forgot to hit split on the vfo. Ugh!  I was in such a hurry.  I need to step back and look at everything before hitting transmit. Thankfully I think was K5YY that said Jay up that helped me from further embarrassment.With Joel's support and holding ADXA members to a higher standard makes me want to try to be on top of my game.I am not worthy of being an A1 op and falling short. But I try to improve every day. 73 JaySent from my Galaxy
-------- Original message --------From: Trent Fleming <trent.fleming at gmail.com> Date: 11/19/20  7:32 AM  (GMT-06:00) To: adxa <ADXA at mailman.qth.net> Subject: Re: [ADXA] Shame of US Radio Amateurs - 60 Meters During the early hours of the CQWW SSB last month, I was listening to all the big guns working each other, just following the waterfall to see big signals.  There were Canadiens working 7.120 - 7.125 and I heard several US stations working them.  It's so easy to learn the band plan and follow it.To me it is just a hobby.  The idea of cheating is just mind-boggling.  Misuse of a band, like 60 meters, is beyond that.  73,TrentN4DTFOn Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 3:06 AM Jay Bromley <jayw5jay at cox.net> wrote:Hi Dennis and Everyone,
If the mode being used stays inside the 2.8 KHz USB channel, is it OK for modes like FT8 signals to use the same channel on 60m as long as they stay inside the 2.8 KHz USB channel?  

The ARRL web site only mentions two digital modes PSK31 and Pactor III.  I am assuming Pactor III is used because of emergency traffic?  They do mention using PSK31 and setting it right in the center of passband of 1500 Hz.  Really that is not center,  1400 Hz would be.  I guess they figured close enough.    

FT8 is 50 Hz wide and so there could be a lot of stations on and still stay inside the 2.8 KHz bandwidth, is that legal?  I can't seem to find the right answer on the web.

I've spent hours trying to find an answer to this question.  I am not sure why as my WSJT-X 2.2.2 doesn't have 60m on the list.  Plus I don't have an antenna up these days for 60m.  I guess I am technically curious more than anything.  

While watching channel 3 tonight, I didn't see any FT8 stations outside the USB channel 3.  Pretty neat was seeing a weak lone CW signal in between channels, not inside one of the US channels.  I wasn't able to zero beat fast enough to hear who they were.  Other interesting tidbits was seeing Radar signatures coming and going while scanning!  

60m is a great band!  Shame folks are misusing it.  

73 de jay/w5jay..

-----Original Message-----
From: adxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net <adxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Dennis Schaefer
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 9:33 PM
To: w5zn at w5zn.org
Cc: adxa <adxa at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [ADXA] Shame of US Radio Amateurs - 60 Meters

Joel,

Very good comments - people need to be more careful about this stuff.    I worked VP6R on practically every mode and band and decided to try them on 60M FT8 on the last day or so.  I normally use a Yaesu FT-991 for my infrequent HF FT8 efforts.  I have flushed most of the gory details out of my memory banks, but I remember reading and studying about things like whether a stated frequency was the carrier frequency or the center of a 3 Khz channel width.  Both methods are  used.  Any signal must be in the center of the 3 Khz channel (once you figure out where it actually is) so FT8 F/H mode is technically illegal any way you look at it.  More than one signal in the channel is too many.  

CW is doable, and SSB is easy, but digital modes are hard to figure out.  However, as much as I struggled with it, I could not make my FT-991 would  transmit on a legal frequency for digital modes on 60 meters.  I’ll have to revisit that someday and see if I was right, but I discussed it with John Evans, who is an FT8 guru, and I think we both reached the same conclusion.   I tried my Kenwood TS-590S and it seems there was a frequency problem with it also.   I think part of the problem was that WSJT-X would not allow me to set a frequency that would result in a legal transmit frequency with the FT-991.  Maybe WSJT-X frequencies assumed carrier frequency and the FT-991 dial read center channel frequencies.  Both were designed to “protect you from yourself” and ended up being incompatible.   Perhaps I could have done it by turning off CAT control - it’s been too long to remember if I tried that.

Makes my head hurt to think about it.  I’ll stick to 6 and 2 meters for FT8, with an occasional foray onto the HF bands (but not 60 meters).

Dennis

> On Nov 18, 2020, at 9:42 AM, w5zn at w5zn.org wrote:
> 
> Greetings ADXA Folks,
> 
> 7Q7RU appeared on 60 meters FT8 last night with a nice signal and several USA stations are in their log. Normally, this would be a good thing however last night was an embarrassment and a shame for amateur radio in the United States. Why? Because 7Q7RU was operating on 5354 KHz and that is NOT a frequency authorized for use in the USA. I don't know if 7Q7RU is aware of this or not, nor do I know if they are even allowed to operate from Malawi on 5357 KHz which is where US radio amateurs can operate FT8. I was monitoring 5354 KHz and the first two stations I saw calling are, to be blunt, stations who do not care about the FCC rules and in fact don't care about any rules as one of those stations was disqualified from the DXCC program some years ago.
> 
> Sadly, the good followed the bad and eventually a number of other US hams began calling on 5354 KHz and the ones I saw calling should have known better. I was in an email exchange with a buddy of mine down in south Texas about it and sadly even he, after a while, said "to hell with it, everyone else is calling so I'm going to as well". I told him that wasn't the case because I wasn't calling and did not intend to unless they move up to 5357 KHz.
> 
> So what makes this particularly egregious? This is a shared band. Amateur radio is not a primary authorized user on 60 meters. Now, you may say "well, I don't hear anyone else there so the primary user's must not be using it". That is an extremely flawed position because the band is in fact used by the United States government and they are watching us!
> 
> Allow me to give a little background. As I have stated before, the United States was the first country in the world to obtain authorization to use 5 MHz. I was ARRL First Vice President at the time and Jim Haynie, W5JBP, was ARRL President. The FCC came on board with allowing amateur radio use rather quickly however the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues, was staunchly opposed to it due to ongoing use by government. The process drug on for several years and finally we were able to obtain the five discreet frequency channels with the power limit we have today.
> 
> Now, you are also aware that during the World Radio Communication conference in 2015 (WRC-15) that amateur radio obtain a small allocation at 5 MHz which the United States has not yet adopted. We are not allowed to use the new WRC15 allocation until the FCC authorizes it. Let me give you a bit more "inside info". ARRL was the driving force within IARU at WRC-15 to make this happen but the United States government refused, on several occasions, to sponsor the agenda proposal or to support it. Guess which IARU society was able to convince their government to sponsor the item and get it on the agenda.....CUBA! Yea that's right, our own government wouldn't support the effort.
> 
> Now, think about this for a second. The United States government did not want radio amateurs on 5 MHz. They were opposed to a 5 MHz allocation for the amateur radio service at WRC15. They still have NOT adopted the WRC15 allocation at 5 MHz so now amateur radio operators in the USA are giving the US government a good reason to NOT do so! And to top it off it is not a bunch of unruly CB operators who obtain an amateur radio license doing this.....it is a group of well season Morse examined Extra Class DX'ers doing so!
> 
> Shame on them. The 5 MHz amateur allocation in the United States could well be in jeopardy.
> 
> So, is there any good news in all of this? Yes there is and ADXA folks are to be commended. We refrained from the temptation to violate the amateur radio rules. I did not see any of you calling. That takes a good bit of will power and also shows the integrity each of you have as a radio amateur, and DX'er and an ADXA member.
> 
> Keep it up, ADXA !!!
> 
> 73 Joel W5ZN
> ADXA President
> 
> p.s. 60 meter contacts are not allowed for any DXCC credit so you really didn't miss anything!!!
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